Chase the Sun
by xxcamxx
Summary: “Tell me why we’re going back again?” Seth asked as he took a left turn and headed down a familiar street...“It would be wrong to do this anywhere else. And, if nothing else, do this for me.” Seth sighed in defeat. He would give her whatever she wanted.
1. Chapter 1

**Season 4 bugged the hell out of me. They had total potential to wrap up the show properly, but so many storylines were left to dangle in the wind.  
But it did bring a crazy idea to this strange mind of mine.  
I haven't written anything in almost a year, but I decided to ease back into this.  
So here's a very small taste of what I'm working on.  
Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. If I did, the O.C. would still be on the air, and Seth Cohen would be my real-life boyfriend.**

**Enjoy.**

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Summer sat on the bathroom counter, kicking her legs impatiently. Sighing, she checked her cell phone for the time: 6:22 PM. Only 8 minutes until Cohen got home from work. Cohen. She sighed again. She really needed to stop calling him that. He wasn't the only one who bore that name now.

As Summer looked down at the rings on her finger, she tried out Seth's patented worry-banishing list-making technique.

_Reasons I Fell in Love with Cohen  
1._

Summer let out yet another sigh. There was no way she could make a list like that. There were simply too many reasons, too many things that had helped him sweep her off of her feet. _Hmmm._ She smiled, remembering the time she and Cohen slow danced in his room. He claimed he was sweeping her off of her feet. Indeed, he had. From then on out, the ups and downs of their relationship took over Summer's life. Try as she might, Summer just could not get over Seth. Even during her little rendezvous with Zach Stephens, gorgeous, athletic Zach, she had been head-over-heels for Seth Cohen. Dorky, gangly-limbed Cohen.

Summer started to recall how shallow she'd been back in the old days. She was too concerned about her image too realize that Seth Cohen was her destiny. Self-absorbed, immature, loving, sentimental, irresistible Cohen. If only she had known what she knew now…

She snapped back to reality when she heard the front door of the apartment shut. Cohen was home. Suddenly, she was reminded of what she had to do.

Seth hung up his coat and grabbed two beers from the fridge, popping the tops off with ease and taking a swig before calling out. "Summer?"

"In here."

As soon as Seth figured out just where "here" was, he appeared in the bathroom.

"Hey, babe." He crossed the room to his wife and planted a quick kiss on her lips. He handed her the beer. "How was your day?"

Summer set the bottle down next to her and gave a half-smile before saying, "Fine."

Seth nodded, hopping up to join Summer on the counter. "That's descriptive. The image you've painted in my mind is so damn _vivid_." The sarcasm in his voice was apparent, but he continued to make his point anyways. "You, my love, are giving Dickens a run for his money. Write that down. You could..."

The rambling stopped when Seth noticed the tiny little stick that Summer was clutching.

"Wh- What is _that_?"

Silence filled the room as Summer caught her breath. She gathered her thoughts and decided on a response.

"Proof that you're not sterile, Cohen."

Seth stared at the stick, then at Summer, then at the stick once more. "For reals?"

"For reals."

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	2. Chapter 2

**My proof reader said she was confused (which really is not a hard achievement, considering it's my best friend Ally). Even though she's easily confused, I'll explain.  
****The start in italics is a flashback of the beginning of Sethummer's honeymoon. You all know what that entails, so I promise I won't get into details. Any italics after that are thoughts. In this chapter, they'll mostly be from Seth. **

**Thanks to the few of you who reviewed.  
I don't really care that not many people read this yet; I like this story.  
(Don't let me off the hook guys, 'cause I chicken out pretty easily.)**

**Mmk. I'm done for now. Enjoy.**

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"_How the hell did you get Bullit to lend us his jet?" Seth asked, stunned._

_The jet really was beautiful. Everything inside of it just screamed "multi-millionaire," from the flawless white leather recliner seats placed in front of their own individual plasma screens to the $20,000 bottle of Glennfiddich. _

"_Well, Julie is like a mother to me. So that makes Kaitlin my sister. And Bullit is like a father to Kaitlin, so that makes him my father, in a way." Summer said as the flight attendant poured her a glass of Glennfiddich on the rocks. "Being a multi-millionaire's sorta-daughter has its perks, you know."_

"_Like jets and shit. Makes sense." Seth nodded. His eyes landed on his new wife's glass. "Since when do you drink Scotch?"_

"_Since the flight attendant asked if I'd like some, and I said yes." Summer rolled her eyes. She took a sip of her drink, but her hand flew to her throat instantly. She coughed uncontrollably for about 5 minutes before being able to choke out an angry, "Fuck!"_

_Seth laughed. He called the flight attendant over and ordered a Cosmo for his wife and a beer for himself. The two sipped happily until their final decent into Aspen._

As Summer and Seth sat in the doctor's office, Summer remembered what it had been like on their honeymoon.

They'd opted for the lodge in Aspen rather than the resort in Honolulu. It was a gorgeous, 2 story gem, nestled into the mountainside. They spent 2 weeks there, only leaving the cabin to watch the sunsets and sit in the Jacuzzi. It had been the best 2 weeks of Summer's life…

But now here she was, sitting on the paper-covered cot at the gyno with Seth.

Summer looked up at Seth, who sat in a chair across from the cot and was staring at his feet. He'd been doing that since the nurse came in to draw Summer's blood 15 minutes earlier. He looked as if he was about to throw up, but Summer couldn't tell if this was because he was scared of needles or because he was scared of a baby.

"Cohen."

"Hmm?" He didn't move to meet her gaze.

"Pull it together."

"Ok." He nodded.

Just then, the doctor walked in, introducing herself as Dr. Melissa Adams, OB/GYN.

"Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, the blood test shows that you're about 6 weeks along." Dr. Adams said with a smile.

Seth let out a loud breath and mumbled something to himself. The doctor's smile faded as she looked back and forth between the young couple. Neither of them were smiling, neither of them were excited.

"I'll just give you guys a minute…" Dr. Adams said, her voice trailing off as she turned towards the door to leave.

Once the door had shut, Seth looked up at Summer.

The look of shear terror in his eyes damn near broke Summer's heart; was having a baby together really that bad? Summer didn't voice her question, fearing that the answer might be the exact opposite of what she wanted to hear. Instead, she began to cry.

Seth jumped up and was at her side within seconds. "Hey. Hey," he said, pulling Summer into a hug. "What's wrong?"

She let out a sob. "You don't want this."

"That's not true, Summer, I do." Seth held his wife at arm's length so he could look into her eyes. She shook her head, refusing to believe him. "You don't think I knew what I was getting into when I asked you to marry me?"

Summer silently wiped her eyes, calming down a bit as she listened to him.

"I want this, Summer." Seth brushed a lock of hair behind Summer's ear, then bent down to kiss her. "I want you."

Summer did the best she could to smile. She knew that this wouldn't be easy for either of them.

* * *

"I don't want to tell them." Summer said, stomping her foot stubbornly.

"C'mon, you're being irrational." Seth said, ignoring his wife's childish and oh-so-clichéd expression of resistance. "They're bound to know eventually, you know, when we've got a crying, screaming, pooping kid hanging around here all the time."

Summer crossed her arms in front of her chest and sat on the bed with a huff. She looked at the clock.

Ryan and Taylor were returning from a 2 week vacation in France. When booking their return flights, they'd made sure to have a few nights in New York. They were going to be in town for the weekend, and they would be there in half an hour. Summer was in no way ready to see them; her hair was a mess and she didn't even have a single coat of mascara on. Sighing, she rose and crossed the room towards the closet, opening its door and browsing through her clothes.

"Shut up, Cohen." Summer said, not even bothering to turn around. She knew that Seth was staring at her and she knew that he was smirking. He had won, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he would gloat.

Seth laughed, turning on his heel to exit the room. He went to straighten up the living room. He was doing just that when he heard the knock on the front door 20 minutes later.

The chorus of heys erupted as soon as Seth opened the door. Taylor, excited and energetic as ever, pulled Seth into a hug, squealing all the while. When she finally released him, Seth turned to his brother, and hugged him tight. They hadn't seen each other since the wedding almost 2 months ago, and, for Seth, that was far too long.

"Good to see ya guys." Seth gestured them into the apartment. "How was your flight?"

That set Taylor off on a rant about security. Apparently, they had confiscated a very expensive bottle of champagne that Taylor had bought in France. It was supposed to be a present, but since it was gone, she'd had to settle on buying them a bottle of rum from the airport liquor store.

"And I'm sure those damn TSA guys are getting tipsy in the employee break room with my bubbly right now." Taylor shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. "Anyways, where's Summer? We have a surprise for you guys."

_Surprise? You have no idea._

"She's getting ready…" Seth said, nervously avoiding direct eye contact. He didn't want to give anything away. If ever there were a time for him to keep his mouth shut, it was right then. "Why don't you guys get settled while I go see what's holding her up?"

After showing Ryan and Taylor to the spare bedroom, Seth headed back towards his own bedroom. Finding it empty, Seth slowly crept towards the bathroom. _Oh, no. Please don't tell me she's..._ Seth's thoughts trailed off as he slowly poked his head through the door. Sure enough, Summer was hunched over the toilet, dry heaving noisily.

Positioning himself behind her, Seth kneeled next to Summer. He placed one hand gently on her back and gathered her hair into his other, holding it away from her face. Whispering sweetly and rubbing her back, Seth stayed with Summer until she had finished.

When Summer was sure that the last of it was gone, she and Seth stood up.

"Thank you." she whispered as she turned on the sink to wet her toothbrush.

Nodding simply, Seth jumped up on the counter as Summer prepared to brush her teeth.

"Are they here?" Summer asked after she spit out her last mouthful of toothpaste.

"Yeah, they're unpacking and such." Seth said, running his hands through his hair. "You ready?"

Summer looked in the mirror, fixed her hair, and applied a coat of lip gloss before taking a deep breath and saying, "Let's do this Cohen."

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**Reviews are mandatory.  
Otherwise I'll get sad and quit.  
Keep me motivated?**


	3. Chapter 3

**The first and second parts happen simultaneously, not one after the other.  
And if you don't get some of the dialogue, re-watch "Earth Girls Are Easy" (S4E8).**

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Taylor and Summer were ecstatic to see each other. If asked, Ryan and Seth probably would have said that the girls were _too_ excited for their likings. Once Taylor and Summer started hugging, squealing, and jumping up and down, Ryan and Seth got out of the apartment as soon as humanly possible, claiming to be going out to pick up the take-out.

The second the door shut behind them, Taylor and Summer got to work.

"So, how are Mr. and Mrs. Seth Cohen?" Taylor asked as she flopped down on the couch. "How's married life so far?"

"Great." Summer replied too quickly.

"Uh oh." Taylor resituated herself in a position better fit to give advice. She patted the couch beside her. "Do tell."

Summer sat and told all; the missed period, the positive at-home pregnancy test, the trip to the OB/GYN, everything. She even voiced her concern about Seth. "He just seems out of it."

Taylor nodded. "I'm sure he is... Remember that time in Vegas?"

Summer remembered. After a potentially heinous fabrication about toothpaste, she had taken a pregnancy test in a gas station bathroom on her way to Las Vegas for a New Years trip with Ryan, Taylor, and Seth. There was a whole debacle about her purse getting stolen, an alien car chase, and a really insensitive celebratory high five from Cohen. The night had been a disaster that ended with a hasty marriage proposal, which only led to even more trouble. However, Summer didn't understand what Taylor was getting at.

"Ok, I don't see your point."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Summer, although Seth was terrified of you being pregnant, he came through for you. He loves you more than anything, and, eventually, he'll get over his little phobia."

Summer reluctantly agreed, and decided to forget about Seth for awhile as she took her turn to ask questions.

"So... what about you?" Summer prodded. "How was France?"

Taylor placed a dramatic hand over her heart and closed her eyes. "C'était stupéfiant!"

"Um..." Summer giggled at her friend. "Translation?"

"Why don't we just wait until the guys come home?" Taylor laughed. "I think it'd be easier if Ryan were here to translate. Plus, we have a surprise for you..."

And with that, the girls proceeded to watch an old rerun of _The Valley._

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Outside, Seth and Ryan walked in silence, both enjoying the Friday night bustle of SoHo. They watched as bouncers at clubs checked IDs while crowds of people lined up, waiting to get in. As a group of girls in cocktail dresses and heels hopped out of a cab and headed into a martini bar, Seth let out a sigh.

"She's pregnant."

Ryan's eyes shot towards the girls. "Which one?"

"No, Ry." Seth said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Summer's pregnant."

Ryan paused to take it in. "I take it you're not too happy about this?"

"It's really hard to be happy when I'm scared shitless."

Ryan nodded, and they grew silent once again. They picked up the food and headed back, dodging their way through the crowds of bar hoppers and clubbers.

As they approached the apartment building, Ryan spoke up.

"Taylor and I are engaged."

Seth stopped dead in his tracks. "I'm sorry, Ryan, could you repeat that? Because I swear I thought you just said you and Taylor are _engaged_."

"I did." Ryan stated simply. "I proposed in Paris."

"Ryan, my man!" Seth smiled and patted his brother on the back before pulling out his key and opening the door. "Congratulations. This is the best news I've ever heard!"

"Better than the news that Summer is having your baby?"

* * *

As soon as Seth and Ryan were through the door, they were mobbed by the girls.

"Mmmm. Oh my God, I love pad thai." Summer gushed as she snatched a bag from Seth's hands.

"What would we do without you guys?" Taylor asked, grabbing the remaining bag from Ryan and dropping it to the floor. She wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck and kissed him. She pulled away, but only for a second, as Ryan went in for another. And another. And another.

They kissed, whispered, and giggled until Seth interfered by loudly clearing his throat.

"Sorry." Ryan shrugged with a crooked smile pasted on his face.

The group sat down and gathered around the coffee table. They quickly dug into their food, eating it straight out of the containers with their chopsticks.

"So," Summer said as casually as she could manage as she rummaged around in her noodles to find a piece of tofu. "What was that surprise you mentioned earlier?"

Taylor's face lit up. She jumped up and ran towards the guest bedroom. "Hold on!" she called over her shoulder. She returned seconds later, hiding her hands behind her back. "Ok!" she said excitedly. "Ready?"

Summer nodded.

"Are you sure?"

More nodding.

"1... 2..."

"Taylor!" Seth, Summer, and Ryan groaned in unison.

With a giggle, Taylor brought her hands to her front with a flourish, revealing a platinum ring with a brilliant solitaire diamond resting gently on her left ring finger.

It only took a second for Summer to get to her feet, rushing to get a closer look at the ring. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Chino, this ring is fantastic!"

Ryan turned to Seth and shook his head. "It's been almost 10 years, and the girl still calls me Chino."

"Sorry!" Summer said quickly. She was sincere, but she refused to take her eyes away from the sparkling rock on Taylor's finger. "Cohen, Chino. I have to let go of the old names. They're irrelevant now. From now on, it'll be strictly Seth and Ryan."

When the girls went back to admiring the ring and gossiping about the proposal, Seth frowned thoughtfully, but only Ryan caught it. He raised his eyebrow at his brother, asking a concerned "what's up?" with a simple look. Seth dismissed Ryan before rising to his feet.

"I'm gonna go get a beer."

In the kitchen, Seth opened the fridge and retrieved a beer for himself. He opened, took a long sip, and sighed. This night was getting to be a little much for him. When Ryan appeared a few seconds later, Seth grabbed another beer from the fridge.

"You gonna tell me what that was all about?" Ryan asked as he accepted the bottle.

Seth shook his head no, and took another swig.

"Ok." Ryan said, turning to head back into the living room.

"Wait, what?" Seth was confused. "No, prodding or begging to know or anything? Not even a little?"

"Nope." Ryan didn't even bother to turn around to face Seth again. "Doesn't really matter."

Seth was slightly offended, and he failed to hide this fact. "And why the hell not?"

"Because," he stated simply, finally turning back to his brother. "Whatever you're afraid of, whatever's wrong with you? You'll get over it. Because it's Summer. And it's you. And you're having a baby together. Eventually, you'll man up to the situation. Until then, I don't really care."

Seth stood, dumbfounded, as Ryan walked back to rejoin the girls. He could not believe that Ryan had been so unsympathetic. He couldn't believe that Ryan had been so blunt. But most of all, Seth could not believe that Ryan was right.

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**Review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**You really have to picture this on screen or it doesn't work. Seriously.  
****If you're familiar with Sethummer, you'll get it.  
If not? Tough shit.**

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At the end of the night, as everyone headed to bed, Seth sat on the fire escape to drink beer and unwind. He listened to the soundtrack of the city: traffic, pedestrians, and the sounds of people in their apartments. He loved the city. He loved the bright lights, the busy people, the way you could walk down the street and see hundreds of faces, not one of them the least bit familiar. He loved how everyone had somewhere to be, something to do, and they'd do just about anything to get there. Sure, people were rude, but he liked the way no one knew his name. Of course, living that way got lonely, but that's why he had Summer. That was more than he could ever ask for.

_Summer..._

Seth replayed the day's events in his mind. God, he had been so immature. What did Summer think of him? _She probably thinks that this baby changes the way I feel about her._ And with that thought, Seth's heart practically stopped. He needed to talk to her. He needed to explain. But just as he stood to go back inside, he heard the window open.

"Hey." Summer crawled out onto the fire escape.

"Oh, hey." Seth sat back down and scooted over on the stair to make enough room for Summer. When she sat down, he wrapped his arm around her.

At the same time, they each let out a sigh.

"I... I think I want to..." Summer started. "I think we should..."

"Wait. Let me go first." He paused and continued once Summer gave him a nod. "I've been thinking about this whole baby thing..."

Summer held her breath and waited for him to go on.

"And I think it's great. I really, really do. I mean, I've been dreaming about having this life with you since I was like, 10. And now that it's here, I'm acting like..."

"A complete asshat?" Summer looked up at him.

"Yeah." Seth said with a smile. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry. And I'll do whatever it takes to prove it to you."

Summer thought for a second. Again, she began to speak. "I..."

"God, I was just so scared, you know?" Seth interrupted again, using his hands in an animated frustration. "When I the doctor said you were pregnant, it was just like BAM." He clapped for emphasis. "I felt like my life was over. There are just so many things we haven't done yet."

"Yeah, Seth, but..." Summer was interrupted once more.

"Oh! And the whole no-more-Cohen thing just freaked me out. I've been nothing but Cohen for almost 10 years now. That on top of the baby thing just made me think, 'damn, I'm getting old.' And no one wants to be old. But you know what? We're not old, and our lives aren't over. We have years and years ahead of us. And they'll be spent raising this kid to be B.A."

Summer sighed. "Anything else?"

"Um..." Seth thought for a bit, making sure he'd covered everything. "No. I forgot to say I love you." He leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on Summer's lips. "And I'm sorry. Now... what were you going to say?"

Summer stopped to think about what she was going to tell him, and wondered if maybe she was asking too much of him. She knew Seth would do anything for her, and that he'd meant every word he'd just said. But would he really do that?

"Cohen, I think we should move." Summer finally said.

"Oh." Seth looked surprised. "You mean like to Manhattan or what?"

"No, Cohen." Summer looked down to her lap. "I want to move back to California."

Summer's words hit Seth hard. He'd never thought that she would want to go back. He didn't think anyone would ever want to go back after experiencing what they had. Seth hated California. He always had. He remembered the days when he would lie awake in his bed, dreaming up a new life, being somewhere, anywhere, than where he was.

So why, now, was he imagining going back? He saw himself sitting on the edge of their pool with his feet dangling in the water. He pictured Summer, lying out in the sun as she loved to do, watching their child splash around innocently. In Seth's mind, Summer looked happy, and so did the kid. And maybe, if they were happy, Seth could find California actually bearable. And suddenly, to his surprise, Seth began to nod. "Ok." he said.

Summer's face lit up as she took Seth's face into her hands and kissed him. When she pulled away, she smiled. "Thank you." She kissed him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

And, with one more kiss, Seth got to his feet. He held out his hand, offering it to his wife. "Shall we?"

"Shall we what?"

Smirking, Seth just shrugged, his hand still outstretched towards Summer. Summer raised a confused eyebrow, but took his hand anyways. He lead Summer up the stairs, and, five minutes later, they were standing on the roof.

Summer looked out at the city. The lights dazzled against the night sky, each one fighting for her attention. She simply could not decide where to look until Seth wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry I'm making you leave this." she said, giving Seth a sincerely apologetic look. "It really is beautiful here."

Seth took his turn to scan the scene, and nodded. "Don't worry about it." he said with a shrug. "You're not an East Coast kinda girl. I get that."

Summer smiled ruefully before hugging Seth closer. There weren't enough apologies in the world to lessen the cruelty of the matter, and nothing Seth could say would ever convince her into complacency.

* * *

Ryan stood alone at the door, surrounded by luggage.

"Are you ready to go yet?"

When Ryan didn't hear an answer, he checked his watch. They were going to be late. _Again._ They'd already missed their 6 AM train to LA, and were now borderline late for the train at noon.

"Guys?"

A collective, "Coming!" came from Seth and Summer's bedroom.

"So is Christmas." Ryan muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"Chrismukkah." Seth corrected as he finally emerged from the room. "And don't worry, dude, we're totally and completely packed now. Summer's on her way out with the last of it."

"How can you possibly have this much stuff?"

Seth looked around. "C'mon, it's not that much."

"43." Ryan gestured to the bags around them. "You have 43 bags."

Seth reached back to scratch his neck and looked to his feet in shame. "Technically, 45."

Ryan, exasperated, closed his eyes. Of course. He'd forgotten to count the duffel strapped to Seth's shoulder, and "the last of it" that Summer was expected to bring out. He didn't even want to think about how long it would take the two of them to carry the bags down. He also didn't want to think about being cooped up on a train for 4 days. He and Taylor could've been home days ago, but instead they'd opted to stay to help their friends move, per Taylor's request.

"How much do you love me?" she'd said.

Of course, he'd do anything for her. She had known that and exploited it. He'd never felt so whipped in his life.

Ryan was brought back to reality when he felt a pair of lips against his. He knew them well. He also knew that the extended length of the kiss could only mean one thing: Taylor was trying to remind him, once again, why he was doing this. She was trying to remind him that, although she was crazy, he loved her, which made him just as crazy, if not more.

When he opened his eyes, Ryan saw Taylor, Seth and Summer all ready to go. He hoisted a rather large duffel bag onto his shoulder with ease and headed out the apartment door. Seth attempted to do the same, but lacked the strength to be as nonchalant about the weight of the bag. As soon as he'd adjusted to the burden, Seth wobbled after Ryan.

In a few hours, the gang was aboard the train, heading towards the West Coast.

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**So now that school's started up again, updates will be less frequent. To compensate, I'll try to make them longer. If you get bored between updates, why not turn to the ever-so-lovely psiloveyouu? Truly fantastic, but she's going through a bit of a rough patch. Though, there's nothing like a surge of reviews to motivate someone, right?**

**Speaking of reviews...  
You know your job.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! ****Guess who? Did you miss me?  
It's been waaaayyy too long since my last update and I feel bad!  
I really want to continue this, so here it goes!  
There's quite a bit of dialogue and a severe lack in any actual action, but hey, I'm out of practice.  
Be forgiving?**

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4 days on a train. 4 freaking days. Seth had never felt so trapped in his life. The sleeper car that they'd reserved wasn't as accommodating as he would have liked, and there wasn't much to do to pass the time. I mean, one can only watch so many DVD episodes of _The Valley _before one felt the sudden urge to play Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun. Plus, the show had been cancelled after just 4 seasons, leaving the fans with a god awful cliffhanger, and Seth was far from happy about that.

Staring out the window, Seth watched the scenery of the nation pass before his eyes. With each passing mile, he was that much closer to his own personal hell. Why had he agreed to do this? He wasn't prepared for this. His home was in New York City with all of its overpopulated, overpriced glory. Now he was going to have to go back to a place where they don't even have street vendors.

Where would he get his hot dogs? His knockoff Rolexes? His New York style pizza? His life would never be the same. Suddenly, Seth felt sick. Overwhelmed, he flopped face down onto the cot and sighed into the pillows.

Summer, who had been paging through trashy tabloids with Taylor, looked up and saw her husband in intense pain. She set the magazine down and rose to comfort Seth.

"Hey." She whispered as she rubbed Seth's back. "Are you getting sick?"

In response, Seth just groaned.

"Do you want me to get you some Tums or something?"

Another groan. Summer looked up at Taylor across the room with pleading eyes. Taylor nodded.

"I'll go see what I can find you." Taylor said, standing. She grabbed Ryan's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, Ryan."

Once Ryan and Taylor had gone, shutting the door behind them, Summer crossed her legs on the bed and gave Seth a good poke in the side.

"Ow!" Seth whipped his head up and turned towards Summer. He glared at her for a second, then returned his head to its place, nestled into the pillows.

Summer poked him again. "Cohen. Get up."

Seth did as he was told and sat upright to face Summer.

"We need to talk."

"Uh oh." Seth said. "That's never good. Are you breaking up with me? Because that's what 'we need to talk,' usually means, but, you know, we're already married and there's a baby on the way so I guess you've kinda missed the boat on that one. A good time to do this would have been like, what? 10 years ago? Even 4 months ago would've been fine. But now? Now is just really, really bad timing. I mean we're already moving and…"

Summer shook her head and tried not to smile. Instead, she just said, "Shut up, Cohen."

"Yes ma'am."

"What's wrong?"

Seth sighed and looked out the window at the fast moving scene.

"Cohen!" Summer whined. "Talk to me."

"Okay, okay."Seth looked at Summer again. "It's just… California? Are you sure?"

"Seth, you promised me you were okay with this."

"I know I did." He nodded and scooted closer to his wife so they were side by side on the cot. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "We're moving. I just need to man up and get over it."

Summer took Seth's face into her hands and kissed him. When she pulled away, she kept a hand on his cheek and caressed it lovingly.

"You're such a trooper, Cohen," she said, smiling. "You're the best husband a girl could ask for."

She kissed him again. "And guess what?"

"What?" Seth replied.

"In exactly 8 hours and 22 minutes, the California sunshine will warm your face, and we can hit up The Baitshop. Do you remember all the good times we've had there?" She snuggled into her husband. "And you'll get to see your mom and dad and Sophie. You miss Sophie don't you?"

Seth most certainly did.

"And don't forget about telling your parents the news. They're going to be so ecstatic. They'll probably even treat us to a really nice dinner at Cha-Ya. I've been craving the garden rolls. Haven't you?"

Seth nodded.

"So?" Summer prodded. "What do you think?"

Seth paused. He thought about seeing his mom and dad, who were sure to flip about the baby. He thought about seeing Sophie, and how much she could've grown in the 2 months he'd been without her. He thought about Cha-Ya and the delicious Japanese food he would stuff into his poor, hungry and neglected stomach. He thought about The Baitshop and how Death Cab would be stopping by there in a few months. Then he thought about Summer and how happy it would make her to be back again.

"Bring it on, California."

* * *

"I spy with my little eye something…" Taylor's voice trailed off as she searched for something. "Purple."

"Purple?!" Seth cried, after a careful scan of the scenery. "There is not a single purple thing out there, Taylor."

"Yes, Seth, there is." Taylor argued. "I spied it."

Seth shook his head. "No. You're insane." He turned to Ryan. "Ryan your woman is insane. Do you see anything purple out there?"

Ryan looked up from his blueprints just long enough to give Seth a look that said "I don't give a shit."

Defeated, Seth employed the help of his wife. "Summer? Purple?"

"Hmmm." Summer looked out the window. "Cohen, there's a patch of flowers at the base of that hill."

"No way!" Unconvinced, Seth leaned in closer to get a better look. He scoffed. "Those flowers aren't purple."

Taylor crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh, really? Then what would you call them?"

"I'd say they're more of an indigo color."

Taylor's mouth flew open in disbelief. "Those flowers are most definitely _not_ indigo."

"Taylor, just face it." Seth said. "I am the master at I Spy. And you suck with colors."

Vindicated, Seth sat back in his seat. But it didn't take long before Taylor lunged at him, armed with a rolled up magazine.

"Take it back!" she cried as she beat Seth over the head.

"No!" Seth tried to protect his head while simultaneously attempting to unarm Taylor. Unsuccessful, he called for help. "Ryan! Come get your girlfriend."

Once again, Ryan merely glanced up from his work. He cracked a small smile. "Fiancé," he corrected before returning to the task at hand.

"Summer!" Seth cried. "Help!"

But Summer was too busy staring out of the window, trying to decipher their whereabouts. Were they still in Nevada, or had they crossed the border yet? She didn't recognize their surroundings, but she had a feeling they were in Death Valley. In fact, she was almost certain it was Death Valley. Finally. They were in California.

* * *

"Do… do you think they'll fit?"

Seth, Summer, Ryan and Taylor stood gathered around Ryan's Escalade, faced with a dilemma. 45 bags, and a limited amount of space to fit them. Ryan, trying to picture the bags stuffed in the back, began to circle the car.

"I think we can do it, " he said, still a little wary. "If we put down the back seat, have Seth and Summer put some on their laps, and shove a few up in the front seat with Taylor… We can do this."

The group began to load the bags into the car, one by one, trying to compact them as much as possible without crushing anything. After about 30 of the bags had been stuffed into the trunk, Seth and Summer slid into their seats while Taylor and Ryan handed them each a few bags. There were bags at their feet, on their laps, and shoved in the small space that separated Seth and Summer.

Ryan and Taylor got into their seats, and buckled up. Ryan turned his head to his friends and asked "Ready?"

Summer, terrified of a 5 hour drive surrounded by bags, Seth, Taylor, and Ryan's idea of music, raised her hand meekly. "I'm squished."

"Summer, we're all squished." Ryan said.

"Um… I don't know if you've forgotten, but I'm pregnant. So this," Summer gestured to the bags that were piled on top of her. "Is just not gonna work."

Ryan considered this. "Alright. Taylor, you're in back."

Taylor did as she was told without complaint. Once the girls had settled into their new seats, Ryan turned to the back seat again.

"Is everyone ready now?"

Seth shook his head no.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, only half caring.

Seth pointed to Taylor. "Um… I don't know if you've forgotten, but your fiancé tried to murder me about 2 hours ago."

Summer, Ryan and Taylor groaned in unison. "Shut up Seth."

And with that, they were on their way to Berkeley.


End file.
